Extended warranties are a waste of money.....

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Originally Posted by paulri
Or was the warranty bought at a considerable reduction ("We normally charge $4K for this warranty, but we'll sell it to you for $2K")?

Typically the $4k offer is for a $800-$1200 dealer cost product. They are heavily marked up.
 
Extended warranties are great for high-cost, high-tech vehicles. Not so good if you're driving a Camry or something else that doesn't have as many high priced components.
 
A big cash cow to a dealership, and the warranty company. Occasionally they pay off for the car owner, it looks like that was the case here.
 
One bad cylinder sure sounds like something wasn't right in the engine tune or not. Only 1 reason to have a tune, curious if the OP ran the guts out of it. Glad the warranty worked out for you.
 
Extended warranties most useful on European models, not very on Asian and mixed on American. Just make sure it covers everything, not just powertrain. Buy a Mercedes for $20K and just out of warranty and the infotainment goes out in a month, that's a $5,000+ repair. And the car won't start without it
 
Originally Posted by UG_Passat
Extended warranties are a waste of money.....

A more complete statement would be that extended warranties are usually a waste of money.

There is a very good reason they are so popular with the folks that buy a used Range Rover from CarMax.
 
As more and more electronics take over automobiles, I've done a complete 180 on my extended warranty purchases. If I can get a manufacturer based extended warranty I'm buying it on a new car when in the past it was never even considered.
 
My wife got a free unlimited mile warranty (service contract) on her 17 Crosstrek.

Don't know what that's worth.
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I read it. It doesn't cover gradual wear and compression loss from normal engine wear.

There is the rub, I guess, deciding one way or the other on the cause of failure.


Now arent some of the VW EA888 TCT failure prone?

And so much for the "additives" . Wonder if they had a role.

Or .... they ain't magic against a broken ring land
 
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Originally Posted by cashmoney
I probably would never buy a car that I thought might need an extended warranty.


I used to think the same way. But there have been times when it's significantly less expensive to get both a new Ford truck AND 120K extended warranty vs. purchasing an equivalent Toyota, without the warranty, there really is little risk in getting the Ford. My 3 Ford F150 SuperCrew's currently have 140K, 100K and 10K miles on them. Between 3 trucks, I've had one real repair, I've replaced one blend door actuator so far.
 
Extended warranties, if they are transferrable to the next owner, are excellent for resale value. Especially factory extended warranties.

What would you buy ... a 5 year old car with ZERO warranty remaining ...

O a 5 year old car with a factory extended warranty for another 2 or 3 years ... ?
 
I understand it's tuned but even with those unnecessary oil additives it still busted. Makes you wonder if it's not just better to leave well enough alone and not mess with oil formulas to start with.
 
Originally Posted by skyactiv
Originally Posted by UG_Passat
Which means to be a common thought...

I don't know about that. I got one of those "Lifetime" extended warranties when I bought my Tiguan... and soon I will get my ROI.

My engine died last week, Cylinder #2 lost compression due to "wear"... but only Cylinder #2, not the rest of the cylinders.

A replacement engine from VW is going to cost $5600 plus labor, and all I pay is a $100 deductible (after paying $2000 up front).

supposedly they cover up to $40/day for rental car costs also.



The OP has a APR stage 1 tune on his VW. Would this thread exist if his Tiguan was stock?
He's lucky they didn't discover it to get out of covering the warranty.

Yes theres no avoiding this, this is very common when the engines jump time. Had a 48k mile A3 with the same issue, out of warranty by time. Usually however, the warranty company will force the repair shop to clear 8 hours of diagnosis for teardown and inspection, and if one of the failed compnents isnt on the "covered" list, its denied, with a client stuck out 800 and a motor thats diassembled. They make killings on transmissions since they dont usually explicitly cover that one piece that fails commonly.
 
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I've never bought one and never need one but, the vehicles I purchase new are noted for reliability. There are some vehicles that should always include an extended warranty IF you drive over the factory warranty mileage. Ed Ed
 
Originally Posted by brages
Don't insure against losses you can afford to cover.

Exactly what I was going to post. You can probably afford the loss of an engine. It'll hurt, but you can afford it.

Loss of a house, or the liability of a nasty car crash is generally not affordable and would be financially devastating to most of the population.
 
Originally Posted by Imp4
Originally Posted by UG_Passat
Extended warranties are a waste of money.....

A more complete statement would be that extended warranties are usually a waste of money.

There is a very good reason they are so popular with the folks that buy a used Range Rover from CarMax.


I assume you're referencing Doug's video. For those that didn't see it, Doug Demauro bought a Range Rover from CarMax with extended warranty and cost of repairs exceeded the cost of the Range Rover within a short period of time.
 
A relative of mine was dithering about renewing the factory 'extended warranty' on his Mercedes as he didn't want to spend the ~$5K 'on a car that old'. He couldn't imagine that his car would ever incur high repair costs, even though it had had some expensive repairs under warranty and (discounted) extended warranty before. Everyone was telling him he was being an idiot and pointing out surveys and forums saying that it was stupid to own this car without it. He said this couldn't be the case, used many of the arguments against the warranty that people used higher up on this very thread. He almost missed the renewal window and paid the money on the last day. Grudgingly. While complaining loudly and bitterly, and grousing for weeks about the 'unnecessary expense'.

Six weeks later, the in car entertainment system in the center stack, which included the climate controls, navigation, phone controls (mandatory hands-free state) and more, decided it was a good time to die. A couple months after that, the engine's cam position sensors and related harness failed in the middle of a *very* unpopulated area.

Total cost covered by the extended warranty in less than six months, $21000.

Need I say more about how this was a good idea?

An extended warranty on something like a Toyota pickup is probably going to be pointless or at least a poor value proposition - but anything with appreciable levels of complex, expensive technology of unknown or questionable reliability? Yeah, that's a different story. On this particular car, prior to this incident, the extended warranty had eaten $15K worth of costs.

Before deciding whether it's a good or bad idea on a car, go look up common problems with the car and the cost to fix. Even if it's a car you had before and the suspect systems haven't increased in tech level or complexity, it's a good idea. I am going to have to have a GM transmission rebuilt for the second time in about 12 years. The cost to rebuild it last time was $1150, tow in/drive out. Today that rebuild is going to cost about $2800 due to increased labor rates in my area and overall cost. Same parts and same shop, happy with both and the shop isn't ripping me off.

Just because it cost $X to repair something ten years ago doesn't mean that it still costs $X now - it's always a good idea to update your mental database of potential costs.
 
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